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Only
Consider Snoring Surgery if All Else Fails

One
of the last resorts for curing snoring problems is usually
snoring
surgery. If you or your partner has continuous snoring
issues
and no medication or anti snoring devices seem to work, then it may be
time to visit with your doctor to see what options are available for
surgery to stop snoring.

Of course, surgery should always be a last resort
and you should try all other anti snoring methods available before
deciding on an expensive and sometimes risking snoring surgery. It is
also only used after a person has undergone serious lifestyle changes
such as increased exercise, weight loss, and abstaining from alcohol
for several hours before going to sleep. Nonetheless, sometimes surgery
to stop snoring can be necessary and in some cases may be the only way
that a person can finally rid themselves of their snoring problem.

Surgery
is very rarely performed
for snoring
problems, and when it is, it is
usually done by a private sleep and snoring
clinic. Still, there are
multiple surgeries that can help a person finally stop snoring and
allow their partner to finally get a good night’s rest. Some are simple
outpatient procedures, while others are more complicated and invasive
surgeries that may even require an overnight stay in the hospital, or
possibly even several nights.

Problems
with Snoring Surgeries

One issue that people
have with snoring surgeries is that they may or may not be covered by
insurance, and if not, they can be extremely
costly. The problem is that snoring is not considered by
many insurance companies to be a medical problem, and unless your
doctor can vouch for it being a medical issue, it likely will not be covered by
insurance.

Another
common complaint with these surgeries is that like other anti
snoring
devices, surgery may not completely cure the problem and the
person may
continue to snore, albeit usually somewhat quieter than before.

Most
Common Surgeries to Quit Snoring

Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty
(UPPP)

UPPP
is a surgery that is performed when the soft
tissue inside the mouth
has been determined to be the cause of snoring. This surgery is quite
invasive so is therefore performed only when the person
has been
completely put to sleep through the use of a general anesthetic. In
UPPP, the surgeon removes excess soft tissue from inside the
mouth.

The
parts that may be removed during this surgery include the uvula (the
little ball that hangs down at the back of your mouth), parts of the
soft palate, the pharynx,
and other excess throat tissue. The
excess tissue is removed when it is determined that it partially blocks
the airway while sleeping, resulting in loud snoring.

UPPP
is one of the rarer surgeries performed, and is only done as an
absolute last result. It normally takes a person around three weeks to
recover from this surgery, during which time most patients report
extreme difficulty and pain while swallowing.

Due
to this, many people who have undergone UPPP surgery say that they
would not do it again or recommend it to others. Another major reason
that this surgery is not very common is that serious complications can
arise following this surgery, although only in rare cases.

Uvulopalatoplasty
(UP)

UP
is a very similar surgery to UPPP; however it is much less invasive
because it is performed with lasers instead of a traditional surgery.
While laser
surgery for snoring may be less invasive than UPPP, many
patients still report
pain and difficulty swallowing for two weeks or more following this
procedure. It is become an increasingly more common way to remove
excess tissue from the back of the mouth, including the uvula and soft
palate.

Despite
this, many doctors still have doubts as to its
effectiveness and believe that if this type of surgery is necessary,
then UPPP may be the better option.

Radiofrequency
Palatoplasty or Ablation

This
type of surgery is similar to UPPP and UP, except that it uses high
frequency radio waves on the uvula and palate. The main difference is
that no tissue is removed. Instead, the radio waves are used to stiffen
and shrink the uvula and palate, which can reduce the vibrations which
cause snoring. This is surgery is only used when soft tissue vibrations
are the issue, and not when there is too much soft tissue.

Soft Palate
Implants

There
are several different kinds of soft palate implant surgeries, and they
are one of the most
common types of snoring surgery performed at sleep
and snoring clinics. In this type of surgery, small implants are
inserted into the palate, which
causes scar tissue to form and the
palate to stiffen. This again reduces the vibrations in
the soft tissue
in the mouth which is one of the main causes of snoring.

Most
palate implant procedures are fairly simple outpatient surgeries which
can be performed in one day at a sleep clinic. Normally a local
anesthetic gel is applied to the area and then a number of implants are
inserted. The most common implant surgery is The
Pillar Procedure.

Nasal
Septoplasty

This
surgery is used to repair
a deviated septum which causes excessive
snoring. It is used to repair the bone and tissue, known as the septum,
which separates the nasal cavities. This is one of the more common
snoring surgeries performed, but only in cases of a deviated septum or
other nasal deformities.

Tonsillectomy
and Adenoidectomy

These
two surgeries are used if the tonsils
or the adenoids are enlarged and
block the airways while sleeping. Tonsillectomy involves removing the
tonsils, while adenoidectomy is the removal of the adenoids. Both
surgeries used to be done in the traditional method, although now it is
much more common to use less invasive lasers to remove them.